“I wish I hated you,” he said softly. “It would be easier. But… you’re not like your father. You’ve made that painfully clear. And even if you were, I…” he paused, shaking his head. Then he reached out and took her chin in his fingers, delicately, as if he were about to kiss her. “You don’t take your impending rule lightly. I see it in you. Only a dedicated woman would go and lie in the snow like this.”
